U.S. patent application number 16/906924 was filed with the patent office on 2020-10-08 for small form factor connection mechanism for a card to card connector.
The applicant listed for this patent is Intel Corporation. Invention is credited to Wesley B. MORGAN.
Application Number | 20200321730 16/906924 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004941926 |
Filed Date | 2020-10-08 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200321730 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MORGAN; Wesley B. |
October 8, 2020 |
SMALL FORM FACTOR CONNECTION MECHANISM FOR A CARD TO CARD
CONNECTOR
Abstract
An apparatus is described. The apparatus includes a hinge
assembly. The hinge assembly includes: i) a stationary element, a
first hole formed in the stationary element to receive a retaining
screw; ii) a rotating element that rotates around the retaining
screw's axis; and iii) an isolation element between the stationary
element and the rotating element located along the retaining
screw's axis. The isolation element has a second hole that is
aligned with the first hole to receive the retaining screw. The
rotating element is to be in contact with and rotate about the
isolation element when the retaining screw is torqued down to clamp
the isolation element and stationary element together.
Inventors: |
MORGAN; Wesley B.; (Olympia,
WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Intel Corporation |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004941926 |
Appl. No.: |
16/906924 |
Filed: |
June 19, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62865056 |
Jun 21, 2019 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 12/7082 20130101;
F16C 2380/00 20130101; H01R 13/62938 20130101; F16C 11/04 20130101;
H01R 12/721 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01R 13/629 20060101
H01R013/629; F16C 11/04 20060101 F16C011/04 |
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising: a hinge assembly comprising: i) a
stationary element, a first hole formed in the stationary element
to receive a retaining screw; ii) a rotating element that rotates
around the retaining screw's axis; iii) an isolation element
between the stationary element and the rotating element located
along the retaining screw's axis, the isolation element having a
second hole that is aligned with the first hole to receive the
retaining screw, the rotating element to be in contact with and
rotate about the isolation element when the retaining screw is
torqued down to clamp the isolation element and stationary element
together.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first hole is counter
bored.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first hole is counter
sunk.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the isolation element is a
cover.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a spring washer
between the rotating element and the isolation element to add
friction to the rotating element's rotation.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the isolation element is a
washer.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the isolation element includes
a spring feature to add friction to the rotating element's
rotation.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the isolation element comprises
a cut to provide relief from strain induced by the rotating
element's rotation.
9. A method, comprising: forming a hinge assembly by: coupling an
isolation element to a stationary element such that a first hole
formed in the stationary element and a second hole formed in the
isolation element are aligned; coupling a rotating element to the
isolation element such a third hole formed in the rotating element
is aligned with the first hole and the second hole; inserting a
retaining screw through the first hole, the second hole and the
third hole and torqueing down the retaining screw to clamp the
isolation element and stationary element together such that the
rotating element is able to rotate about the retaining screw's axis
while the rotating element is in contact with the isolation
element.
10. The method of claim 19 wherein the hinge assembly is a
component of an electronic card edge connector.
Description
RELATED CASES
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/865,056, entitled, "SMALL FORM FACTOR CONNECTION
MECHANISM FOR A CARD TO CARD CONNECTOR", filed Jun. 21, 2019, which
is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The field of invention pertains generally to the mechanical
arts, and, more specifically, to a small form factor connection
mechanism for a card to card connector.
BACKGROUND
[0003] With ever increasing signal speeds and wiring densities in
high performance computing and/or networking systems, system
designers are constantly seeking ways to reliably route more and
more signals in tight/small form factor solutions.
FIGURES
[0004] A better understanding of the present invention can be
obtained from the following detailed description in conjunction
with the following drawings, in which:
[0005] FIG. 1a shows cards plugged into a backplane;
[0006] FIG. 1b shows cards connected by a card-to-card
connector;
[0007] FIG. 2a depicts a pair of cards;
[0008] FIG. 2b depicts a connection mechanism for a card to card
connector;
[0009] FIGS. 3a and 3b shows a more detailed depiction of a pair of
cards connected by a card to card connector;
[0010] FIG. 4 shows a first view of an embodiment of a card to card
connector connection mechanism;
[0011] FIG. 5 shows a second view of an embodiment of a card to
card connector connection mechanism;
[0012] FIG. 6 shows a third view of an embodiment of a card to card
connector connection mechanism;
[0013] FIG. 7a shows a washer for use in the connection mechanism
of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6;
[0014] FIGS. 7b and 7c show alternative connection mechanism
designs;
[0015] FIG. 8 pertains to manufacture of the washer of FIG. 7;
[0016] FIG. 9a shows a computing system;
[0017] FIG. 9b shows a networking switch/router;
[0018] FIG. 10 shows a data center.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Referring to FIG. 1a, electronic cards 101 (also referred to
as "boards") having semiconductor chips, firmware, etc. designed to
perform some function are plugged into a backplane 102 of an
electronic system. The backplane 102 provides card to card
interconnects so that information from one card can be sent to
another card.
[0020] The backplane approach, however, can have limitations
particularly in the case of very high speed card to card signals
and/or large numbers of card to card signals that, e.g., commonly
exist in data centers. Generally, high speed signals should be kept
as short as possible, and, backplane card to card connections can
result in extended wiring trace lengths over the cards and/or
backplane. In the case of large numbers of card to card signals it
becomes difficult to route all such signals over a single backplane
102.
[0021] Dis-aggregated computer system (e.g., dis-aggregated server)
implementations are also being undertaken. In the case of a
dis-aggregated computer system, unlike a traditional computer in
which the core components of a computing system (e.g., CPU
processors, memory, storage, accelerators, etc.) are all housed
within a common chassis and connected to a common motherboard, such
components are instead integrated on separate pluggable cards or
other pluggable components (e.g., a CPU card, a system memory card,
a storage card, an accelerator card, etc.) that plug-into a larger
exposed backplane or network instead of a same, confined
motherboard. As such, for instance, CPU computer power can be added
by adding CPU cards to the backplane or network, system memory can
be added by adding memory cards to the backplane or network, etc.
Such systems can exhibit even more high speed card to card
connections that traditional computers. One or more dis-aggregated
computers and/or traditional computers/servers can be identified as
a Point of Delivery (PoD) for computing system function in, e.g.,
the larger configuration of an information technology (IT)
implementation such as a data center.
[0022] High performance server computers and/or networking systems,
such as the kinds of computers and networking systems found in data
centers, tend to be composed of large numbers of high speed
signals. Examples of such high speed signals include, e.g., data
and/or clocking signals associated with any of Infinity Fabric
(e.g., as associated and/or implemented with AMD products) or
derivatives thereof, specifications developed by the Cache Coherent
Interconnect for Accelerators (CCIX) consortium or derivatives
thereof, specifications developed by the GEN-Z consortium or
derivatives thereof, specifications developed by the Coherent
Accelerator Processor Interface (CAPI) or derivatives thereof,
specifications developed by the Compute Express Link (CXL)
consortium or derivatives thereof, specifications developed by the
Hyper Transport consortium or derivative thereof, Ethernet,
Infiniband, NVMe-oF, PCIe, etc. Again, in the case of large numbers
of card to card signals it becomes difficult to route all such
signals over a single backplane 102 or through a network. Such
systems therefore tend to suffer from backplane/network induced
limitations more than other types of systems.
[0023] Dedicated "card to card" connectors can help alleviate both
of these problems. A card to card connector 103 is depicted in FIG.
1b. Here, rather than route certain signals between neighboring
cards 101_1, 101_2 over the backplane 102, instead, such signals
are routed over a special connector 103 that is connected to both
cards. As observed in the particular embodiment of FIG. 1b, the
card to card connector 103 is connected to the respective top sides
of the cards 101_1, 101_2 while the respective bottom sides of the
cards plug into backplane 103.
[0024] With the card to card connector 103 it is easier to route
high speed signals between the cards 101_1, 101_2 with shorter
wiring trace lengths and/or route larger numbers of signals between
the cards 101_1, 101_2 (the presence of the card to card connector
103 provides excess signal wiring capacity that eases the signal
count on the backplane 102). As such, high speed computing systems
and/or networking switches/routers, e.g., for use in a data center,
may make use of card to card connectors such as any of the card to
card connector embodiments described immediately below.
[0025] Moreover, for cards that physically connect to the system
(e.g., via a backplane) according to an industry standard
specification (e.g., Peripheral Component Interconnect express
(PCIe), the industry standard connection may be deficient in
various ways (e.g., speed, number of pin-outs, etc.) to fully
support the types/kinds of communications between cards that system
designers envision. Card to card connectors therefore can allow
inter-card communications as envisioned by system designers while
maintaining full industry standard compliance with respect to card
to system interconnect.
[0026] FIGS. 2a and 2b provide more details on a particular card to
card connector implementation. FIG. 2a shows two cards 201_1, 201_2
as they would be oriented when plugged into a common backplane.
Here, each card includes a cut out 204_1, 204_2 where a
card-to-card connector is to connect with each card.
[0027] FIG. 2b shows a high level view of an embodiment of the
connection mechanism by which a card to card connector actually
connects to a card in the cut out region. Here, referring to inset
210_1, the bottom side of the cut-out region of the card includes
conductive traces 211 that mate with an edge connector 212. In
various embodiments the conductive traces 211 may be on both sides
of the card 201 so that the edge connector 212 makes electrical
connections on both card sides, or, the conductive traces 211 are
only on one side of the card 201 so that the edge connector 212
makes electrical connections on only one card side.
[0028] The edge connector 212 is affixed on both sides by a
respective brace element 213. A cover element 214 covers the top
side of the edge connector 212 and connects to both brace elements
213 at the sides of the edge connector 212. In an embodiment, the
attachment of the brace elements 213 to the cover element 214 is
effected with respective screws (not shown for illustrative
ease).
[0029] Specifically, on each side of the cover element 214, a screw
is oriented along axis 215 and threads into the brace element 213.
The head of the screw fits into the hole of a protrusion
(counterbore) that is formed on the side of the cover element 214
and extends outward along axis 215. For ease of drawing, neither
the screws nor the protrusions are depicted in FIG. 2b. They are
depicted, however, in more detailed drawings that are discussed
further below.
[0030] A set of cam-levers 216 and a handle 217 are formed from a
single element that rotates about the aforementioned protrusion
around axis 215. Inset 210_1 of FIG. 2b shows a first position of
the connection mechanism when the handle 217 is "up" and the
cam-levers 216 are oriented such that their extended length 218 is
pressing down on respective support fixtures 219 that are mounted
to the card 201. The extended length 218 of the cam-levers 216
pressing down on the support fixtures 219 causes the edge connector
212 to rise so that its edge connections are not in firm contact
with the cards edge connections 211.
[0031] As such, the position of inset 210_1 of FIG. 2a corresponds
to the position of the connection mechanism when the connector is
first being placed in contact with the card 201 for connection with
the card, 201 or, after the handle 217 has been lifted to remove
the connector from the card 201.
[0032] Inset 210_2 of FIG. 2b shows a second position of the
connection mechanism when the handle 217 has been "closed" by
rotating the cam levers 216 and handle element 217 about axis 215.
As the cam-levers 216 rotate along support fixture 219, their
length reduces to a shortened length 220 which physically lowers
the axis of rotation 215 and the edge connector 212. The lowering
of the edge connector 212 causes its edge connections to slide over
the card's edge connections 211 resulting in electrical-mechanical
connection between the edge connector 212 and the card 201.
[0033] For simplicity the wiring that emerges out of the edge
connector and connects to the edge connector that is to be
connected to the other card is not shown in FIG. 2b. However, in
various embodiments such wiring resides beneath the cover element
214.
[0034] FIGS. 3a and 3b show more detail drawings of the card to
card connector 303 making connection to a pair of cards 301_1,
301_2 (the cards as depicted are covered by respective covers to,
e.g., concentrate cooling air flow over their respective
semiconductor chips and/or protect against EMI noise).
[0035] Here, FIG. 3a shows the first connection mechanism position
in which the respective handles 317_1, 317_2 for both edge
connectors are in a raised position (the positioning of FIG.
[0036] 3a therefore corresponds to the positioning of FIG. 2a).
Note that the cover element 314 is in a raised position.
Correspondingly, beneath the cover element 314, the edge connectors
are raised above their respective card's edge connections.
[0037] FIG. 3b shows the second position in which the respective
handles 317_1, 317_2 have been rotated into a closed position (the
positioning of FIG. 3b therefore corresponds to the positioning of
FIG. 2b). Notably, the rotation has caused the cover element 314 to
lower toward the cards. Corresponding, in this position, both edge
connectors have lowered onto their respective card's edge
connections thereby making full electrical-mechanical contact with
their respective cards.
[0038] FIG. 4 shows a more detailed side view of the brace element
413, cover element 414, cam lever 416 and handle 417. As depicted,
the rotation of the cam lever 416 and handle 417 are such that the
handle is in the closed position akin to FIGS. 2b and 3b discussed
above. Here, support fixture 219 of FIG. 2b is implemented as a
cylindrical post or pin that fits into opening 430. As such,
physical distance 420 corresponds to the shortened length 220 of
the cam lever 216 of FIG. 2b. As can be envisioned, if the handle
element 417 is "lifted" so as to cause rotation in a clockwise
direction, when the handle 417 is in a fully upright position, the
cam lever 416 will be pressing against the post in its extended
length position which corresponds to physical distance 418.
[0039] FIG. 4 also shows the aforementioned protrusion 423 that
extends from the cover element 415 and screw 424. For ease of
drawing an exploded view is shown in which the screw 424 is
positioned along the aforementioned axis 415. As can be seen, the
protrusion 423 is an element of the cover element 414 that extends
outward from side of the cover element 414 along axis 415. As
described above, the threads of the screw 424 screw into threads
formed in the brace element 413 "behind" the protrusion 423. When
fully threaded into these threads, the head of the screw 424 sits
in the opening of the protrusion 423. The face of the protrusion
that faces the screw is countersunk so that the screw head fits
within the protrusion. Notably, as will become more clear in the
following discussion, the cover element 414 with protrusion 423
acts as an interface element to allow the screw to be torqued down
to complete the connector assembly while allowing a rotating
element (e.g., the handle) to rotate.
[0040] As described above, the cam lever 416 and handle element 417
rotate about the protrusion 423 which is cylindrical in shape. The
rotation of the handle element and cam level about the protrusion
(e.g., rather than the screw head 424) mechanically isolates the
screw 424 from the rotation of the handle. As such, the screw 424
will not loosen, over tighten or otherwise rotate in response to
the rotation of the handle element 417 and cam lever 416.
[0041] As a consequence, the torque needed to sufficiently tighten
the screw 424 about axis 414 is mechanically de-coupled from the
torque about axis 415 associated with the rotation of the handle
element 417 and cam lever 416. This can be important as the torque
about axis 415 from the rotation of the handle 417 can be larger
than the torque needed to tighten the screw 424 (e.g., because of
the large radius associated with the handle's rotation). As such,
if the aforementioned de-coupling did not exist, rotation of the
handle 417 could/would otherwise cause rotation of the screw 424
with possible detrimental effects such as loosening of the
screw.
[0042] FIG. 5 shows a more detailed cross-section of the connection
mechanism from an off angle when the handle element 517 is lifted.
Here, each of the edge connector 512, the brace element 513, the
cover element 514, the cam lever 516, the handle element 517, the
support fixture 519, the protrusion 523 and the screw 524 are
depicted. As observed, with the handle element 517 in the lifted
position, the cam lever 516 is pressing against the support fixture
519 along its extended length 518 orientation (the cross-section
depiction cuts deep enough into the mechanism such that the
portions of the cam lever 516 and support structure 519 that make
contact with one another have been cut away, as such, there is
space between the depicted portion of the cam lever 516 and the
depicted portion of the support structure 519).
[0043] FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional side view of the connection
mechanism when the handle element 617 is closed. Here, each of the
edge connector 612, the brace element 613, the cover element 614,
the cam lever 616, the handle element 617, the protrusion 623 and
the screw 624 are depicted. The support fixture is not depicted but
it would exist in region 619. As observed, with the handle element
617 in the closed position, the cam lever 616 is pressing against
the support fixture along its reduced length 620 orientation.
[0044] FIG. 6 also shows the presence of a friction washer 625
between the cover element 614 and the handle element 616 and cam
lever 617. The washer 625 is designed to provide sufficient
pressure against the cam lever 616 and handle element 617 so that
they are rigid/stable in both the lifted and closed positions. That
is, because of the pressure applied against the cam lever 616 and
handle element 617 by the washer 625, the cam lever 616 and handle
element 617 will not loosely rotate to a closed position from a
lifted position nor loosely rotate to a lifted position from a
closed position.
[0045] FIG. 7a shows a more detailed view of an embodiment of the
friction washer 725. Here, when the cover element 714 and handle
and cam lever elements 716, 717 are mated together with the screw
724 with the washer 725 between them, interlocking tabs 726 of the
washer 725 fit through corresponding openings 727 in the cover
element 714. With the tabs 726 inserted in the openings 727, the
washer element 725 will not rotate with the handle and cam lever
elements 716, 717 or with the tightening of the screw. The washer
725 includes curved flaps 728 that act like springs to press down
on the cover element 714 to provide the pressure against the handle
and cam lever elements 716, 717. The washer 725 has a central hole
729 through which the protrusion (not shown) of the cover element
714 is inserted.
[0046] FIG. 7b shows a first alternative embodiment where the
protrusion in the cover element is flared out to receive the screw
head.
[0047] FIG. 7c shows a second alternative embodiment where the
isolation element, which was the cover in previously described
embodiments, is instead implemented as a washer 731 having a flared
protrusion to receive the screw 724. In the particular embodiment
of FIG. 7c the isolation washer has a tab 732 to fit into an
opening 733 in the stationary element 713 so that the isolation
washer 731 does not rotate with the rotating element 714. A tongue
in groove 734 feature is formed in the isolation washer 731 and the
rotating element 714 to help guide the rotating element's rotation.
A friction washer 732 can also be inserted between the isolation
washer 731 and the stationary element 713.
[0048] In various embodiments, regardless if the isolation element
is a washer or larger element, the isolation element is thin and
cannot be counter bored or countersunk. The screw is within
whatever shape the isolation element's extrusion is flared to. If a
counter bore exists on the rotating element's hinge axis hole, it
will need to take on that shape with the flaring punch tool in a
press. Same with a counter sink. That is, the isolation element's
protrusion is formed first as an extruded hole of, e.g.,
cylindrical shape. This extruded hole "protrusion" fits into
whatever hole shape the rotating element has and, e.g., is flared
into that shape in a press with a punch tool. This permanently
attaches the isolation element to the rotating element, still
allowing rotation. Neither a counter bore or countersink is also
possible if the extrusion is long enough to protrude through the
thickness of the rotating element.
[0049] FIG. 8 shows an intermediate stock element 830 from which a
friction washer 825 can be created. In various embodiments, the
stock element 830 is composed of a hard material in order to effect
a high spring constant (e.g., copper, steel, etc.) Here, before
forming the interlocking tabs 826 or curved flaps 828, a cross cut
831 is made in the stock element 830 that is centered where the
central hole 829 is eventually formed. After formation of the
central hole 829, the outer ends 832 of the cross cut 831 remain in
the washer 825. Here, the outer ends 832 of the cross cut 831
provide stress relief for the body of the washer 825 as it
experiences a shear strain with the high pressure rotation of the
handle/cam element against the cover element and/or the tightening
of the screw.
[0050] Specifically, the upper tabs 726_1 will press against the
sides of their respective openings in the cover element in one
direction while the lower tabs 726_2 will press against the sides
of their respective openings in the cover element in the opposite
direction (i.e., because of the pressure the washer will try to
rotate with the handle and cam lever). The outer ends 832 of the
cross cut 831 allow for some deformation of the radius of the
central hole 829 to relieve the washer 825 of the internal stresses
it experiences from the resulting shear strain.
[0051] In various embodiments, the cross cuts are not required if
the washer is made of a softer spring material (e.g., aluminum).
For example, if the washer is integrated into another part, such as
the cover for a card to card linking interconnect board, the
material may be more ductile, and the extrusion can be formed in
the sheet metal with no expected cracking.
[0052] Although embodiments above have stressed a card to card
connector that only connects two cards, in various embodiments, a
single connector may connect more than two cards (e.g., three
cards, four cards, etc.) Any/all of the connection mechanisms for
connecting such a connector to a card may incorporate the teachings
provided above.
[0053] FIG. 9a provides an exemplary depiction of a computing
system 900 (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop
computer, a desktop computer, a server computer, etc.). As observed
in FIG. 9a, the basic computing system 900 may include a central
processing unit 901 (which may include, e.g., a plurality of
general purpose processing cores 915_1 through 915_X) and a main
memory controller 917 disposed on a multi-core processor or
applications processor, system memory 902, a display 903 (e.g.,
touchscreen, flat-panel), a local wired point-to-point link (e.g.,
USB) interface 904, various network I/O functions 905 (such as an
Ethernet interface and/or cellular modem subsystem), a wireless
local area network (e.g., WiFi) interface 906, a wireless
point-to-point link (e.g., Bluetooth) interface 907 and a Global
Positioning System interface 908, various sensors 909_1 through
909_Y, one or more cameras 910, a battery 911, a power management
control unit 912, a speaker and microphone 913 and an audio
coder/decoder 914. The CPU 901 or other processor (e.g., GPU) or
other high-performance semiconductor chip may include a heat sink
assembly having a pre-loaded bolt as described herein and/or a
carrier with anti-tile posts as described herein.
[0054] An applications processor or multi-core processor 950 can be
an SOC that includes one or more general purpose processing cores
915 within its CPU 901, one or more graphical processing units 916,
a memory management function 917 (e.g., a memory controller) and an
I/O control function or peripheral controller 918. The
general-purpose processing cores 915 typically execute the
operating system and application software of the computing system.
The graphics processing unit 916 typically executes graphics
intensive functions to, e.g., generate graphics information that is
presented on the display 903. The memory control function 917
interfaces with the system memory 902 to write/read data to/from
system memory 902.
[0055] Each of the touchscreen display 903, the communication
interfaces 904-907, the GPS interface 908, the sensors 909, the
camera(s) 910, and the speaker/microphone codec 913, 914 all can be
viewed as various forms of I/O (input and/or output) relative to
the overall computing system including, where appropriate, an
integrated peripheral device as well (e.g., the one or more cameras
910). Depending on implementation, various ones of these I/O
components may be integrated on the applications
processor/multi-core processor 950 or may be located off the die or
outside the package of the applications processor/multi-core
processor 950. The computing system also includes non-volatile
storage 920 which may be the mass storage component of the
system.
[0056] FIG. 9b depicts a networking switch or router. Switch/router
core 904 can switch/route packets or frames of any format or in
accordance with any specification from any port 902-0 to 902-X to
any of ports 906-0 to 906-Y (or vice versa). Any of ports 902-0 to
902-X can be connected to a network of one or more interconnected
devices. Similarly, any of ports 906-0 to 906-X can be connected to
a network of one or more interconnected devices. Switch /router
core 904 can decide which port to transfer packets or frames to
using a table that maps packet characteristics with an associated
output port. In addition, switch/router core 904 can perform packet
replication for forwarding of a packet or frame to multiple ports
and queuing of packets or frames prior to transfer to an output
port.
[0057] Here, various components of the computing system of FIG. 9a
may be implemented on multiple cards and two or more of such cards
may be connected together by a card to card connector having a
connection mechanism that incorporates any/all of the teachings
provided above. Likewise, various components of the networking
switch of FIG. 9b may be implemented on multiple cards (e.g., a
switch core card, a network interface card, etc.) and two or more
of such cards may be connected together by a card to card connector
having a connection mechanism that incorporates any/all of the
teachings provided above.
[0058] FIG. 10 depicts an example of a data center. Various
embodiments can be used in or with the data center of FIG. 10. As
shown in FIG. 100, data center 1000 may include an optical fabric
1012. Optical fabric 1012 may generally include a combination of
optical signaling media (such as optical cabling) and optical
switching infrastructure via which any particular sled in data
center 1000 can send signals to (and receive signals from) the
other sleds in data center 1000. The signaling connectivity that
optical fabric 1012 provides to any given sled may include
connectivity both to other sleds in a same rack and sleds in other
racks.
[0059] A sled may be implemented, e.g., as a card having certain
ones of the computing system components described above with
respect to FIG. 9. For example, a first type of sled may be
composed of CPU elements, a second type of sled may be composed of
system memory elements, a third type of sled may be composed of
peripheral I/O elements, a fourth type of card may be composed of
mass storage elements, etc. Alternatively or in combination a
fourth type of sled may approximately correspond to a computing
system (e.g., having CPU, system memory, peripheral I/O and mass
storage elements or some combination thereof). For example, in
various embodiments, each blade comprises a separate computing
platform that is configured to perform server-type functions, that
is, a "server on a card." Accordingly, each blade includes
components common to conventional servers, including a main printed
circuit board (main board) providing internal wiring (i.e., buses)
for coupling appropriate integrated circuits (ICs) and other
components mounted to the board.
[0060] Data center 1000 includes four racks 1002A to 1002D and
racks 1002A to 1002D house respective pairs of sleds 1004A-1 and
1004A-2, 1004B-1 and 1004B-2, 1004C-1 and 1004C-2, and 1004D-1 and
1004D-2. Thus, in this example, data center 1000 includes a total
of eight sleds. Optical fabric 10012 can provide sled signaling
connectivity with one or more of the seven other sleds. For
example, via optical fabric 10012, sled 1004A-1 in rack 1002A may
possess signaling connectivity with sled 1004A-2 in rack 1002A, as
well as the six other sleds 1004B-1, 1004B-2, 1004C-1, 1004C-2,
1004D-1, and 1004D-2 that are distributed among the other racks
1002B, 1002C, and 1002D of data center 1000. The embodiments are
not limited to this example. For example, fabric 1012 can provide
optical and/or electrical signaling.
[0061] It is envisioned that aspects of the embodiments herein can
be implemented in various types of computing and networking
equipment, such as switches, routers and blade servers such as
those employed in a data center and/or server farm environment.
Typically, the servers used in data centers and server farms
comprise arrayed server configurations such as rack-based servers
or blade servers. These servers are interconnected in communication
via various network provisions, such as partitioning sets of
servers into Local Area Networks (LANs) with appropriate switching
and routing facilities between the LANs to form a private Intranet.
For example, cloud hosting facilities can typically employ large
data centers with a multitude of servers.
[0062] Various examples may be implemented using hardware elements,
software elements, or a combination of both. In some examples,
hardware elements may include devices, components, processors,
microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g., transistors,
resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integrated
circuits, ASICs, PLDs, DSPs, FPGAs, memory units, logic gates,
registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips, chip sets, and
so forth. In some examples, software elements may include software
components, programs, applications, computer programs, application
programs, system programs, machine programs, operating system
software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines,
subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces,
APIs, instruction sets, computing code, computer code, code
segments, computer code segments, words, values, symbols, or any
combination thereof. Determining whether an example is implemented
using hardware elements and/or software elements may vary in
accordance with any number of factors, such as desired
computational rate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle
budget, input data rates, output data rates, memory resources, data
bus speeds and other design or performance constraints, as desired
for a given implementation. It is noted that hardware, firmware
and/or software elements may be collectively or individually
referred to herein as "module," "logic," "circuit," or
"circuitry."
[0063] Some examples may be implemented using or as an article of
manufacture or at least one computer-readable medium. A
computer-readable medium may include a non-transitory storage
medium to store logic. In some examples, the non-transitory storage
medium may include one or more types of computer-readable storage
media capable of storing electronic data, including volatile memory
or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable
or non-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so
forth. In some examples, the logic may include various software
elements, such as software components, programs, applications,
computer programs, application programs, system programs, machine
programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware, software
modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, procedures,
software interfaces, API, instruction sets, computing code,
computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words,
values, symbols, or any combination thereof.
[0064] According to some examples, a computer-readable medium may
include a non-transitory storage medium to store or maintain
instructions that when executed by a machine, computing device or
system, cause the machine, computing device or system to perform
methods and/or operations in accordance with the described
examples. The instructions may include any suitable type of code,
such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable
code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. The instructions may
be implemented according to a predefined computer language, manner
or syntax, for instructing a machine, computing device or system to
perform a certain function. The instructions may be implemented
using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual,
compiled and/or interpreted programming language.
[0065] One or more aspects of at least one example may be
implemented by representative instructions stored on at least one
machine-readable medium which represents various logic within the
processor, which when read by a machine, computing device or system
causes the machine, computing device or system to fabricate logic
to perform the techniques described herein. Such representations,
known as "IP cores" may be stored on a tangible, machine readable
medium and supplied to various customers or manufacturing
facilities to load into the fabrication machines that actually make
the logic or processor.
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